


Front Porch Steps

by kiminseong



Category: UP10TION
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 03:20:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12448608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiminseong/pseuds/kiminseong
Summary: Dongyeol couldn't get the image of the boy out of his head. He was so carefree, so beautiful. He had never met the boy in his life, but he craved something like everything the boy had. He craved meeting the boy.





	Front Porch Steps

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is for my sister !! i really hope you like it ! i love you !!

Dongyeol hates his night classes, but because he had to start working, he had to start taking a few. Luckily, he only takes them three days instead of five, but he still hates having to study around his work. Studying should come first, but they aren’t nearly as willing to work with him as the school was, so he only had one option: these dreaded night classes. Finding a steady pace, forcing one foot in front of the other, he pushs himself toward the little apartment he had managed to afford. Granted, though, he had to afford it alone. 

 

The roommates he had in the past two years while living in the dorms weren’t exactly the type of people he had been looking to live with, despite their shared interests. They either didn’t work out because they were the type of person that didn’t like or couldn’t handle him or he wasn’t particularly interested in them. He had never found it hard to make friends, in fact, he is a rather gregarious person. Despite this, he has been struggling to keep his social life alive in college. It seemed like everyone he met assumed he already had enough close friends, and those people they assumed to be close friends, assumed the same the about them. 

 

Walking down the streets at night, though, not only caused an eerie feeling to hang around him, but forced him to watch the party full of people who were either too wasted to realize what was wrong with what they were doing, or too sober to want to stay. One quite near his apartment blared music of a familiar group, but he wasn’t sure just thinking about it. 

 

It was strange, seeing so many people in windows, the little stories they shared with the public just by the actions anyone on the outside could view. It was stupid, some of them, but others were sad. A man stood on the front yard, he was hollering, pouring a glass bottle of what Dongyeol assumed was beer over his head. In another window, it was easy to see a couple coming on to one another in what he guessed was a bedroom, hopefully one of their own. But just outside, a girl sat alone in her car, weeping. She was likely drunken or heartbroken, maybe both, but Dongyeol wouldn’t get involved. 

 

Someone peculiar stood out to him, though, this time. It was strange, seeing a person he didn’t find sad or stupid by just seeing them. He danced in the opening of the door, a little hallway evident behind him. A green bottle was held in the air above his head, but it was a soda bottle rather than something that held alcohol. He yelled and sang loudly, freely. Dongyeol wasn’t close enough to see his face, but there was something about him that made Dongyeol want to try and talk to him. 

 

He had to press the thoughts about the poor dance the boy performed, though. He moved himself further, pinching his facial features so that he could bear leaving without seeing the boy’s face, without walking up to the party and making the friends he has dreamed of. He doesn’t want to leave, but he isn’t cut out for parties, despite what his personality seems to beg. 

 

He welcomes himself to the familiar state of his home, turning the little lock to loneliness. He really never saw himself as someone who would be left alone, but he was. By the time he had gotten home from this class each night, it was nearly ten at night, so Dongyeol was tired. He laid himself on his bed, ready to let his legs rest from their walk today, which was longer than usual, as he stopped by the library on campus after class to pick up a book for his morning class. 

 

. . . . . 

 

He woke up early for his class the next morning, which annoyed him. He never met to wake up earlier than when his alarm broke his sleep, but he did sometimes. He turned his alarm off so it didn’t go off later before stepping into the shower since he had time. The water was hot against him, but it was cold last night, so his body was much cooler than he wanted it to be. He soaked up every second he got to spend in the shower, but he realized he couldn’t get a song out of his head. 

 

“Hey Mama” by EXO-CBX played in his head, but he hadn’t heard it in a while, from his memory. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he tried listening to it to get it out of his head. He moved to the kitchen with his phone so that he could make some food before he leaves for class. 

 

Pouring what was left of his Oreo cereal into a bowl, Dongyeol then poured the milk into his bowl when the chorus began. Closing his eyes, he was able to picture a faint memory. The boy from last night was dancing to this song when Dongyeol saw him. He remembers how free and careless he looked. The way he was so beautiful, almost drunken, holding a drink high above his head in triumph. It never occurred to Dongyeol that he could feel this while eating cereal, but the boy he saw just last night made him feel like anything was possible. 

 

Throwing his dish into the sink before leaving, he left with everything he needed for class that morning. He would go to one class, and with little free time in between, then his next. The walk was just like everyday, but passing that house made him stop and think. There were no cars in the driveway like there was last night, but who knows, there were lots of people at that party. He wondered if the mystery boy lived there. He hadn’t seen him, that he could remember, until last night. 

 

He wondered if knocking on the door would accomplish anything; the owner of the house could easily just be at class or work, but it was plausible for them to not have a car, either. Dongyeol walked forward to the door without thinking. His hands hesitated, but he pulled back, turning around. It was in just that moment that he regretted nearly every choice he made that morning, except for the mysterious boy from the night before. 

 

“Excuse me?” Dongyeol heard behind him. He closed his eyes slowly, pressing both lips together in utter embarrassment. Turning on his heels, he faced the person behind him. At first sight, the boy was adorable. He stood at about the same height that Dongyeol did, which was shorter than most boys. His jaw was masculine, making him less adorable and more beautiful. His eyes were small and his nose thick. His lips were nearly perfect aside from his cupid’s bow nearly not existing. Still, though, they were cute. 

 

The boy looked tired, despite how handsome he appeared. His eyes begged for sleep. He wore a sweater with jeans, which was probably just thrown on because it was simplest. After last night, Dongyeol would believe if he was hungover or just up too late or both. He had a backpack on his back, so he was probably going to class. It was strange Dongyeol had never seen him before, but Dongyeol would have already been on campus by now if he hadn’t decided to see the boy who did in fact live here. 

 

“What are you doing on my doorstep…?” the boy asked. He seemed more worried than he was upset. This probably wasn’t something that happened to him often, but Dongyeol couldn’t get the boy out of his head. He was going to be haunted the entire day. The entire morning he kept thinking back to the shadowed picture of the boy in his head. In the doorway, he stood, green bottle raised proudly over his head. 

 

“I was… I don’t know?” Dongyeol questioned even himself. He wasn’t sure about what to tell the boy. He couldn’t say that he was taken aback just by how perfect he seemed just dancing senselessly in a doorway. “Did you host a party last night?” he asked, trying to make sense of everything. Dongyeol was positive this was the boy he had seen yesterday. Looking at the whole picture, seeing the boy standing in his doorway, he could see him from the night before. It was an image he could have fell in love with, and it would be an understatement to say that he wouldn’t mind falling for the boy completely. 

 

“Yeah…? Were you there?” He still looked so lost talking to Dongyeol. It made sense, the two had obviously never met before. 

 

“No, no, I just saw the party while I was walking back from class,” Dongyeol explained to the boy. 

 

“Oh, um. Well...who are you?” the boy asked Dongyeol. He understood that everything he was saying probably didn’t make any sense to the boy, still. It didn’t clarify why he was standing on his doorstep at seven in the morning. The sun just broke across the city, so Dongyeol had officially just missed his chance to make it to class on time. He left with just enough time to make it to class a little early, but now he would be too late if he left now. He could definitely make it to his second class of the day before work, though. 

 

“Lee Dongyeol, I am a junior in college this year.”

 

“I am too!” The boy across from him enthused. He had suddenly brightened despite how tired he appeared. It was silly that he got so excited about being in the same grade as someone he just met. Hundreds of students were juniors, did he expect to never meet another one after attending school for a certain amount of time. 

 

“Can I ask your name..?” Dongyeol asked, still not sure what he was doing. He wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad idea to mention that the boy probably needed to get to whatever class he was leaving for. 

 

“Lee Hwanhee!” Dongyeol smiled. The name was oddly suiting for him. “By the way, Dongyeol-ah, what are you still doing on my front step?” Hwanhee asked. He wasn’t rude, despite the meaning of the words. Dongyeol’s smile didn’t falter thanks to his peculiar attitude. 

 

“Are you...going to class?” Dongyeol asked. He really didn’t even want to leave now, but he wanted more than anything to avoid answering the question. 

 

“Yeah, yeah, that’s what I was doing… You wanna walk together?” Hwanhee asked him. Dongyeol nodded, and they were off, one foot in front of the other. They had apparently walked the same path, yet never crossed. Hwanhee was not in a hurry because his class starts fifteen minutes later than Dongyeol’s, which also explains why they didn’t see each other in the morning. 

 

Small talk was made casually, Dongyeol asking about the party Hwanhee had last night. He found out that, when he saw Hwanhee, it was likely he wasn’t drunk. In fact, it was likely he hadn’t had any alcohol, but by the end of the night, Hwanhee had enough to make him a bit tipsy. 

 

While they walked, Hwanhee made hand gestures that were extravagant and sometimes unnecessary. Something about him was enchanting, though, he didn’t want to stop watching the boy moving around. His mood fluctuated between exuberant and frustrated on purpose, and Dongyeol admired his ability to change expression so simply. They were enthusiastically drawn into conversation with another, and Dongyeol found it incredibly easy to talk to Hwanhee even though the two had just met. 

 

When they approached the building for Hwanhee’s class, he shouted while sprinting to the building, “Don’t forget to find yourself on my doorstep more often, sexy!” It was an understatement to call the boy an oddball. 

 


End file.
